Thursday: Temptations 3

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters ... It is a great day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole ... yes it is cold, but 15 years ago we set all-time lows, as the temperatures went to minus 22 and that is not wind chill... So as always we can count our blessings for the Lord is good.

Today, Thursday, is family day on the line, the day we pray for families far and wide ... Please pray for our new first family in Washington, and for your family and mine ... Also please pray for the Saylor family from our flock. Donald, the senior member of the family, goes for cancer surgery on Monday. All in the family are adults and all are disabled and all work hard ... They are wonderful people.

Please also pray for Jill Smith who is now with hospice care with cancer ... She is a resident of the Bridges but one who never came to our services ... Today Dolores and I are going to the Hospice Hospital to be with her and be sure of her heart ... I have talked to her before, and feel she knows the Lord, but want to really have a heart to heart with her ... She needs your prayers and so do we as we minister at her bedside ... This assignment by God is not an easy one folks, but we honor God by going ... and ask for forgiveness as we should have gone yesterday...

Temptations 3 Luke 4:5 The devil led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to Him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours. 8 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'" (NIV)

Here we have old Satan trying to sell Jesus a bill of goods. Now think about it, Jesus is God, as we know, (God in three persons) and He is standing with the devil who has, like us, free will, and this master of hate is trying to get Jesus to worship him by saying he will let Jesus have authority over it ... So we see just how stupid Satan is, really stupid, for as we know Jesus has authority over it already, but has given it over to man to run day to day... Once already He has taken it away with a big flood and except for Noah and his family started mankind all over again ... because of sin ...

So now when the sin is up again this time God came down as man in Jesus and walks the earth, knowing full well what His mission is ... the devil is going to try and sell Jesus a "bill of goods".

Folks, if this master of evil, Satan, would try and sell Jesus a "bill of goods", what in the world do you think he is trying to do with the rest of us? Here we find once again the devil tempting Jesus by saying he will give him the world. Does he not do that with us? Yes, give us the world ... MONEY, that seems to be the world around us most of the time ... Do this and do that and you can get rich fast ... Rob, steal, cheat, and he wants us all to do just that ... Invest in this and invest in that and get rich ... You want to get rich ... INVEST IN GOD! Yes, invest in God, and in tomorrow's lesson we will find when we should not test God and in what one thing we can test God in ... that is for tomorrow...

What kind of bill of goods have you been asked to buy into ... oh, not just with money, but what kind of bill of goods? Are you buying into it is ok to be gay thing ... are you buying into living together without marriage is ok ... are you buying into abortion and trying to say it is ok, for it is just another unwanted child ... What is Satan trying to sell you on this 22nd day of January 2009? Each day he will try and sell you something, but folks we have a person who can look over the deals for us, look over the things that are offered up by man and sometimes by evil ... Yes, not all offers are from Satan, but how do we know the difference sometimes as they all look so good? Folks, we pray about it and we listen for God's answers ... We really do ... Pray and listen and, brothers and sisters, we all tend sometimes to pray and not listen ... I for one confess to that and step out on my own ... Sometimes it goes ok, and we try to step out more, then we fall on our face ... We need to always step out with, and for, the Lord in all we do ... If you would not do it with Jesus standing in front of you, then don't do it for Jesus sees all we do ... Pray about it, listen for answers, pray again if you are not hearing God speak to your heart ... and be sure it is God talking to your heart and not Satan talking to your "butt" for sometimes we do listen through the wrong parts of our bodies ... yes we do ... You and I all know that ... Listen to your heart folks, listen to your heart and soul, listen for Jesus.

Father in Heaven, talk to us and let us hear Your words each day. Lord help us to learn to listen and not look over You and get confused with the master of evil ... We need to listen to You, the Master of our Lives, and keep You the Master of our lives by living for You and to please You ... Help us with that, in the name of Jesus I pray, Amen ...

Go forth sharing your blessings, and tomorrow find out about what you can test God on ... You might be surprised, but I don't think so ... I believe you already know for I talk about it daily ... ok, go share, in faith ... love ya, dan.